rockfarmer wrote:Like many of you, I have a problem. I am addicted to the restoration of these small tractors, and often wonder, when will the infatuation wear off? Next year? 10 years? Never?

I also know the solution to a problem is to first admit that there is a problem... just did, problem solved!

I was an alcoholic for close to 15 years and drank enough for everyone on this forum and a couple others, not people but a couple other forums. Praise God that through Him and Him alone I been sober for over 6 years. With that being said I don’t think there is anything that could cure me from the addiction of old iron and rust and a little bit of new paint here and there

The original generator from '47 to '49 was 1101355 used with cut-out 1116766. Your generator part number is clearly correct. The last 3 digits of the cut-out part number are stamped into the base and can be seen as correct . The 7E14 on your generator tag id a date code. The date is year 7 of some decade (assumed to be 1947) the rest of the code is May 14.

Hi, The one brush I can see in the pic looks almost the length of a new brush. If the others are the same length, and look good, there's no need to replace them. You could clean the commutator with fine sandpaper.Also you could check the bushing and bearing for wear.

rockfarmer wrote:Like many of you, I have a problem. I am addicted to the restoration of these small tractors, and often wonder, when will the infatuation wear off? Next year? 10 years? Never?

I also know the solution to a problem is to first admit that there is a problem... just did, problem solved!

I bought another project cub today. just was checking craigslist like I do now n then , next thing I know I was dressed n cleaning off the trailer n down the road. Sometimes everything comes together, funds, price, proximity and time. I doubt I will ever lose the addiction to old farm iron, old iron of any kind really. when I was younger it was old Harleys. as well as tractors, now its mostly tractors.

better to have it and not need it than to need it and not have it...( YES this includes CUBS! )

After inspecting the original ammeter, I suspect that it may be bad. The needle shows 2-3 amps positive, while unhooked. I thought the generator might be putting out that voltage the last time I had it running. Apparently not.

All the brushes look to have the same thickness and construction,

so I did not take anything apart inside the generator. Cleaned the terminals with emery cloth and wired it according the above schematic (#4).

Does this look correct?

If so, do I need to polarize the generator before starting up?

Ignore the pink wires, they are ground wires for a 8 wire harness I had laying on the shelf . I do not plan to use the ground wires, so they are taped off.

Polarized the generator, spark and all. With the tractor running and no lights hooked up, ammeter shows around 3 amps on 2nd postion low charge and 8-9 amps on 3rd and 4th position high charge. Does this sound right?

As far as charging with the 4 position switch, is it normal to run with the switch off when no electrical components (lights) are being used? only turning on the switch when you need to charge the battery.

P.S. Jim, thank you for confirming the parts match and ID's of the generator and cutout.

Those charge rates are about right. I generally consider the "H" position to be the default place to leave the light switch. I would switch to "L" only if I an using the tractor a lot - like running the tractor most of the day. Running the tractor for an hour or so is unlikely to overcharge the battery.

Hi, I'm not sure how you are describing the switch positions, hopefully you have it connected correctly. The 1st position is fully counterclockwise, and is Low charge, the 2nd position, clockwise is High charge, the 3rd position is Dim lights, and the 4th position is Bright lights.

Below is a page from the 1947 Cub owner's manual, telling about the charge and light switch, starting at the lower left of the page.

After running about a 1/4 pint of seafoam with 3 quarts of 10W-30 thru the crankcase for a couple of hours, this old cub sounds better than any other cub I have ever heard, which is only been about a dozen. Noticed the oil pressure dropped to barely above the red at low idle once the engine got hot. I drained and added Rotella 15W-40 and the oil pressure is now about 1/8" above the red at low idle with engine hot. I think I will run the heavier weight oil until I can get the engine re-built, since our low temps for the next 3-4 months will be 80 degrees. Barely any smoke now when I hit the throttle.

With everything else finished, I went to inspect the gas tank to determine course of action, i.e, lye, vinegar, acetone, primer, sealer, etc...and to my surprise, found this,

Not sure if this is clean living or did I get lucky with a special galvanized tank?

Tank looks the same on my '48. Doing great as usual, "if it ain't broke.......". Having had and operating my cub for over 50 yrs, l'm partial to the '48. I was also pleased when you said you were keeping it 6v with the magneto.Thumbs up from me.

Why is there never enough time to do the job right, but always enough time to do it over.